Rafa Benitez getting ready for lift-off

IT is the words as much as the actions that could be the real story of Chelsea’s adventure in Japan.

Tomorrow they face the Corinthians from Brazil in the final of the Club World Cup, knowing that victory would give Rafa Benitez a trophy and the chance to really lift his troops – at a height of about 35,000 feet

The skies over Asia might not be the normal venue for such rallying calls, but the Blues’ interim-manager says he is determined to bang the drum on the plane home. And he has been there before – albeit in a hotel corridor rather than an aircraft.

In 2004 Benitez was manager of Valencia when, at one stage, they were eight points adrift of Real Madrid but ended up winning La Liga by five points.

Benitez said: “We were in a hotel corridor, and I was talking with Ayala, Cannizaro and Pelligrino and Aimar. I told them we would win the league. They thought I was crazy.

“The way that we trained was key. And the way we train here, I have confidence we will get better and better every single week. It’s all about lifting confidence. When I talk to players here, I can see in their faces they have the belief.”

Benitez said he could imagine making a similar speech to the one he made to his Valencia players on the trip back to England following tomorrow’s final.

“If they can reproduce the same level in our first league game back, against Aston Villa, I think they will start building this confidence,” he said.

Tomorrow’s final is only the seventh match since Benitez took over. He failed to win in the first three but has been successful in the next three, including the semi-final victory over Monterrey on Thursday.

I told them we would win the league. They thought I was crazy

Rafa Benitez

Leaders Manchester United are 10 points clear of Rafa’s third-placed west Londoners, with champs Manchester City four points ahead. Benitez said: “People have asked me whether it’s a two-horse race. But if you win two or three games in a row you have more confidence.

“If we win here and we play like we played in the semi-final against Monterrey with the quality we have going forward and a balance in defence, the team can win games in a row easily. With three or four wins in a row, the confidence can be so high. So why not?”

Benitez has been given the job until the end of the season by owner Roman Abramovich, but is looking further ahead. “If you have one week, you cannot change too much,” he said. “If you have three months, you’ll see little things. If you have three seasons, it’ll be easier.

“I’m sure that doing the right things on the pitch and signing the right players, you can compete at the maximum level. I am the manager until the end of this season. Afterwards, you never know.”

John Obi Mikel last night said he hopes that David Luiz does not line up with him in midfield again tomorrow. The Brazilian was named in a supposed holding role by Benitez in the 3-1 success against Monterrey.

“I think he needs to play at the back,” said Mikel. “It was a bit of a shock to see him lining up there. I said to him on the pitch, ‘where shall I play?’ He said, ‘I will play the holding role and you go forwards’. I said, ‘okay’.

“But when the game began, I looked up and David was up in the Monterrey end of the pitch!”